NASA and KidTribe teamed up for this unforgettably entertaining “hip-hopera” designed to teach kids about the solar system. Described as ‘MTV meets Science’, “Space School Musical” is one small step for man & one giant moonwalk for kid-kind!

This clip is raw from Camera E-8 on the launch umbilical tower/mobile launch program of Apollo 11, July 16, 1969. This is an HD transfer from the 16mm original. Even more excellent footage is available on DVDs at spacecraftfilms.com.

The camera is running at 500 fps, making the total clip of over 8 minutes represent just 30 seconds of actual time. Narration is provided by Mark Gray, Executive Producer for Spacecraft Films.

I just noticed on the altadenablog a notice about JPL’s upcoming Open House.

The 2010 JPL Open House will take place on Saturday and Sunday, May 15 and 16, 2010, 9am-5pm both days.

This popular event celebrates JPL’s accomplishments with exhibits and demonstrations about the Laboratory’s ongoing research and space exploration. Many of the Lab’s scientists and engineers are on hand to answer questions about how spacecraft are sent to other planets, how scientists utilize space technologies to explore Earth and how researchers are searching for planets beyond the solar system.

The Open House is a fun and educational experience for children too, with special hands-on activities designed for kids. Admission and parking is free.

NASA has a standing policy to use metric (SI) units for all projects. Unfortunately, much of American industry, including the DoD, still uses English units. The Constellation program decided to use metric units two years ago, and how they want to switch back to English units, saying that it costs over $300 million to re-tool and re-draw all the hardware they would be re-using or modifying from older programs, like the Space Shuttle.

Think about that…over $300 million. That’s more than many satellites cost for design, build and launch. And people wonder why companies like SpaceX can do launches cheaper…

Just today, I had several conversations about units at work. For the same project, two different groups of modelers were doing analysis. Once it recently became time to merge or combine the models, lo and behold, we discover that one group used metric and one didn’t. Bleh…

The engineer in me just wants the U.S. and the U.K. to just get over it and switch completely to metric. Then I think about baseball and golf and milk and gasoline and everything that would have to change…

JWST has been in development for a long time and is due to launch in 2014. They’ve really been pushing the envelope in a lot of areas, including tech development and simulation analysis. It’s all pretty impressive, and this movie is a fun and gorgeous show. Check it out!

Well, you could point out that weather and tide and climate predictions need detailed solar, lunar and planetary modelling. You could also point out that car engines need modern mechanics, which is all based on the laws of motion formulated by Isaac Newton, who used the orbits of planets to calculate and build his theories. Or you could point to the humble GPS satellite navigator, which relies on Einstein’s theory of relativity and orbiting satellites. Of course, astronomy is useful; after all, it helps us to work out whether it’s raining, and how to drive quickly to the cricket and back without taking a wrong turn!